CHAPTER XXIII.

WINDING UP THE VOYAGE--CONCLUSION.

Ambitious Jimmy evidently came to the conclusion that a Government submarine was rather larger game than he cared to tackle. Besides, from the riotous way in which his five chums were laughing, he must have become convinced that there would be sustained objections to allowing him to count his prize, even did he bag such prey.

At any rate, he ceased rowing, and backed water, returning to the _Tramp_, with one of his characteristic wide grins decorating his freckled face. So the others never knew whether the wild Irish lad might have been playing a joke upon them, or really thought it was a whale, which he might as well try to take in.

The submarine had by this time vanished from sight, evidently testing her ability to remain under the surface of the water for a length of time; as well as proceeding at a rapid clip when partly submerged. But the boys did not see anything of the strange craft again.

They made their camp that night, just as Jack had figured upon doing. And on the following day, by cleverly getting an early start, they passed around grim Fort Morgan, sailing up Mobile Bay, where gallant Farragut earned his lasting laurels many years ago.

But, besides securing their letters, if there were any, they did not mean to remain long here. One day sufficed to show them all they cared to see of the quaint little city that has had such a history.

Truth to tell, all the boys were anxious as to what news might await them when they reached New Orleans. That, of course, was to be the deciding point. If nothing new developed, it was of course their intention to hold to their original plan. This had been to ship the three motor boats up the Mississippi by some packet, themselves taking passage on a train, headed for home.

As they had previously made a voyage down the Father of Waters; and heading up against the fierce current was never to be thought of on the part of such small craft, this was really the only thing they could do.

Apparently they had plenty of time to reach their destination on schedule, and yet none knew better than did Jack Stormways how exasperating delays often occur to hold motor boats up. There was George, for instance, with his unlucky speed boat, which might become disabled at a time when they would lose days towing him along; or it might be storms would follow each other so fast that a necessary outside passage could not be attempted.

And so they decided, that first night out from Mobile, that if there was any loafing to be done, they had better defer it until within a single day's run of the Crescent City. When their minds were perfectly free, and they knew nothing was apt to interfere with their carefully laid plans, that would be the time to hang around, and rest up.

So day succeeded day, and they drew gradually closer to their destination. Jimmy began to look very doleful, or at least pretended to be in the "dumps," as Josh called it. The wager would come to an end when they made the city on the lower Mississippi, no matter what their future course was to be. And if he had not beaten that wonderful shark record by then, the game was up.

Nick puffed himself out, and assumed airs. He felt that he had really done himself proud in bringing such a remarkable fish to land, alone and unaided. He even made out solemnly worded vouchers, which every one of the others was compelled to sign; and which in so many sentences told the actual story of his feat.

"You see," Nick explained, "a lot of people up in our town would call it just a fish story, and let it go at that. And I want to prove it to my dad as well. He never dreams what a wonderful boy he's got. Guess they won't laugh so much after this, because I happen to have a little extra flesh on my bones. That don't mean I'm lacking in muscle, does it? I think not. Haven't we got a shining example of the same in our great and noble President today? Huh! a fellow can be stout, and yet some punkins, after all."

"And that little kodak picture I took will go a good way toward proving your story, Nick," remarked Josh. "When they see you standing so nobly, with one foot on that _tre_menjous shark, it'd have to be a mighty suspicious feller that would doubt your word. And even Jimmy, here, your worsted competitor, has signed your affidavy."

"Sure if I'm worsted, I'm wool, and a yarrd wide!" grinned the said Jimmy.

"By the way, I notice that Jimmy doesn't get busy any longer with that shark line," remarked Herb, turning to the Irish lad with a questioning look.

"Then he must have given it up as a bad job," said George.

"How about that, Jimmy; are you ready to crown Nick as the king pin of the bunch when it comes to bagging big fish? Shall we get the laurel wreath, and put it on his brow? Will you admit that you're cleanly beaten at the game?"

Jack put the question direct, for he privately knew that Jimmy had yielded the palm. The other jumped up, snatched his banjo from the ground, and began to strum something that set the boys in a roar, and made Nick blush with pleasure. For the tune was, "Lo, the Conquering Hero Comes."

"How long have we been in making this splendid run from Philadelphia?" Herb asked a little later, as Jack was jotting down some notes of the day's run in his logbook.

"Nearly three months, all told, counting our numerous stops," was the reply; "or it will be that when we get to New Orleans. December is nearly over now; Christmas has gone by, and the New Year only a few days away."

"Well, I haven't kept exact track, to tell the truth," Herb went on; "but I guessed it must be about that. Do you want to know how? Why, you remember that on our very first night out, the moon was just four days old?"

"That's a fact," spoke up George; "for I can recollect noticing it up in the western heavens, and wishing it would hurry along, so as to give us more light nights."

"Well, this is about the dark of the moon now," added Herb, triumphantly.

"No use for Herb to ever own a watch again," laughed Josh. "He just prides himself on being able to tell the time of day by the sun; and now he's shown us how he can find out what day of the month it is by the moon. Pretty soon he'll be using the stars to tell his age, and when he cut his first tooth. Once you start in along that line, there's just no limit to what you can do, I reckon, eh, Herb?"

"Well, all I can say, fellows," quoth Jack, as he slapped his logbook shut, and glanced around at the sunburned and healthy looking faces of his five good camp-mates, "is that we've surely had the time of our lives on this dandy voyage; and no matter what happens next, we're never going to forget the glorious runs our little fleet of motor boats have made outside, and in, along the whole coast, from the frozen North to the Sunny South!"

"Hear! hear!" shouted Josh, enthusiastically waving his hat above his head.

"You never spoke truer words, Jack," remarked George, with deep feeling. "It's sure been the happiest time of my whole life; or would have been," he hastily added, while a slight frown broke over his face, "only for the trouble that blessed old motor gave me every little while."

"But you're all right now, George, with the new engine aboard," condoled Nick.

"Perhaps I am," replied the skeptical George; "but the proof of the pudding is in the eating of it. The new machine may go back on me yet."

"But, my goodness! you've had it, going on three weeks, and in all that time she only shied once! What better do you want than that?" demanded Herb.

"Oh! well, you never can tell," replied the skipper of the _Wireless_.

"Fact is, fellers," Nick declared, "George has become so used to looking for sudden trouble to spring on him, that he can't think of anything else. He's all the time watching for a breakdown to happen."

"Three weeks ought to satisfy him that his new engine is all to the good," remarked Josh, "but seems like it don't. Say, George makes me think of that Irishman who was always looking for trouble. He had been employed by the same railroad company forty-three years; but, getting too old for the work, he was let go. When some of his friends, seeing him look so doleful, took him to task, he shook his head and said, says he: 'It's not surprised at all I am; for ever since I began work here I've known it wouldn't be a permanent job!'"

And so they laughed and joked as the time slipped away.

Of course they did not intend passing around to the delta of the mighty Mississippi, when there was a much more convenient way of reaching the Crescent City by passing through the straits called the Rigolets, and thus entering Lake Ponchartrain; from whence, by means of the canal, the city could be gained.

It was on New Year's day, at about three in the afternoon, with a piping cold wind streaming down from the frozen North, that the little motor boat flotilla came to a last stop in a quiet boatyard near the great city on the river, which had seen the windup of a previous voyage of the club.

And, anxious as they were to hear from home, the six chums did not neglect to shake hands all around over the remarkably successful termination of their long and adventurous trip down the Eastern coast, and among the keys of Florida.

If the news they received was what they expected it would be, they intended to load the three boats on the first packet bound up the river, and then wend their way home by train.

Whether this plan was fated to be carried out or not, must be left to another book. Having attained the goal for which they had striven so splendidly; and with the bitter rivalry between Jimmy and Nick settled for all time, we can safely leave our young friends at this point, wishing them all good luck in other voyages which they may undertake in the near future.

THE END.

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Transcriber's Notes:

--Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_); text in bold by "equal" signs (=bold=).

--Printer, punctuation and spelling inaccuracies were silently corrected.

--Archaic and variable spelling has been preserved.

--Variations in hyphenation and compound words have been preserved.